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Virginia lawmakers still have a path to revive adult-use marijuana sales legislation this year following Governor Abigail Spanberger’s veto: placing the language directly into the state budget.

Multiple advocates involved in the effort tell The Marijuana Herald that both the House and Senate may include adult-use marijuana sales language in the budget, potentially forcing the issue back to Governor Abigail Spanberger.

State Senator Louise Lucas (D), president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate and chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, pointed to that possibility today in response to a social media post from Governor Spanberger.

“I’ll leave online fights to others. Some people govern by social post. I prefer bill by bill, line by line,” Spanberger wrote. “We’re busy delivering results for Virginians. That’s the job.”

Lucas responded by saying “Now that you have read each bill line by line, it’s time to focus on the budget. Your Secretary of Finance says that we need more revenue and the House budget is negative by $400M in the out years. That’s not fiscally responsible and won’t happen on my watch.”

Lucas’ comments highlighted that lawmakers remain in a special session and could still use the budget process to respond to gubernatorial vetoes.

The back-and-forth comes after Spanberger vetoed legislation that would have established a regulated adult-use marijuana market in Virginia, leaving the state in the unusual position of allowing adults to possess and grow marijuana while continuing to prohibit licensed recreational sales. Of the 24 states that have legalized recreational cannabis possession, only Virginia prohibits licensed sales.

Virginia legalized possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for adults 21 and older in 2021, but lawmakers have repeatedly failed to launch a taxed and regulated retail system. As a result, the state’s medical marijuana businesses remain the only legal marijuana retailers, while unlicensed sales continue outside the regulated market.

If lawmakers pursue the budget route, it could create a new confrontation with Spanberger while giving supporters one last opportunity to advance adult-use sales before the session fully concludes.